Chicago Latino Film Festival - Olancho
Manuel, a farmer from Olancho, Honduras, seeks fame by making music for the region’s drug cartels. When some of his song lyrics get him in trouble, Manuel must make the most difficult decision of his life: continue the quest for fame, or flee.
Interview with Director/Producer Chris Valdes & Ted Griswold
Watch Olancho on Kanopy
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Ted and I fell in love with Olancho when we where teaching there from 2010-2012. In our time there we experienced a lot of the negativity that you may have heard about or seen in the news, namely drug violence, but we also experienced a different side of Honduras- the side that doesn't make the news. We met wonderful people with the most resilient spirit. They took us in and made us feel like we were a part of their community. We decided that we wanted to give the world a different view of Honduras, one that's more holistic and humanistic. We wanted people to see the real Honduras.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Olancho will open up a window into a world that you've likely never seen. Our characters gave us intimate access into their lives- from playing music at narco parties to life on the farm in rural Honduras. Olancho will take you on a beautiful journey that will challenge your views on immigration and drug policies.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think it's safe to say that almost no one knows what it's like to have to make the decision of whether or not to pick coffee beans for $5 dollars a day, or to pick up your guitar and play for the narcos for $300 a night. I don't think that the audience will be able to relate to our character's career choice.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
When we first started filming we really focused on one of the band members in particular who gave us insane access into his life. After a while though, we realized that he as a person and his story were not developing in a way that would make sense for a doc. When went back to the US and that's when we got the news that one of the band members had fled and come to the US. We had to re-draw everything and shift focus to him, since his story would be so much more relevant to the US audience.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We were able to show the film in a private screening back in the fall. It was the first screening with anyone outside of the team. There was a Honduran woman in the crowd and after the screening she came up to us and thanked us for portraying Honduras and the situation there as it really is. That was our goal from day 1, so it felt good to get that kind of feedback.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Some have said that some of the violent scenes are gratuitous. Ted and I don't feel that way, but it has made us constantly question our editing/story telling choices. Ultimately we decided that to leave out the violence would be omitting the truth. We also try to maintain balance, however.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We hope to expand our community and we think that www.wearemovingstories.com will help get our name out to groups that we don't have access to. We hope that film makers and others in the business, after seeing this article, will reach out to us to potentially collaborate on publicizing or showing Olancho.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are looking for ways to show or publicize our film through non-traditional routes. We are doing the film festival circuit thing now, but we know that Olancho could live in so many different platforms areas. We're looking for someone to help us explore those options and help us brainstorm other possibilities for expanding the Olancho campaign.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Given the current political climate and that changes that are happening on the national level, we would like our doc to challenge people's views on immigration. By giving audiences an intimate look at where Central American immigrants come from, we hope to complicate the argument a bit and get people talking about how we can make a real difference and impact immigration policy as a nation.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Given our nation's insatiable drug use, how much are we at fault for the violence that is happening in Central America? Is the blood on our hands?
Would you like to add anything else?
Follow us on Facebook to look for a screening near you soon! @SoundofSangre
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
At the moment we're pretty focused on pushing Olancho forward!
Interview: February 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Olancho
Manuel, a farmer from Olancho, Honduras, seeks fame by making music for the region’s drug cartels. When some of his song lyrics get him in trouble, Manuel must make the most difficult decision of his life: continue the quest for fame, or flee.
Length: 70 min
Director: Chris Valdes & Ted Griswold
Producer: Chris Valdes & Ted Griswold
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): sales agents, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Funders: Kickstarter.com, VGTV (Norway)
Made in association with: Tercer Piso (Honduras)
Where can I see it in the next month?
Chicago Latino Film Festival, Georgetown Latin American Film Festival, Capital City Film Festival